Marketing in a Digital World: Course Overview

 Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Marketing 3311 course, “Marketing in a Digital World”, has been a valuable and informative module of learning. In this course, I was taught to develop a greater understanding for ways in which marketers can use digital marketing tools to further an online brand or increase traffic volumes. Additionally, I was introduced to a variety of ways in which companies currently utilize social media platforms as an integrative communication tool.

Dr Pepper Online Audit Assignment

Prepared By Lisa M. Robinson

• Report: Robinson100202319.OnlineAudit.DrPepper
• Visual Aid: Dr Pepper Online Audit Prezi

In this assignment, I was required to prepare a memo outlining the online marketing tactics utilized by the Dr Pepper brand. In doing so, I was able to evaluate the overall successes and failures of the brands presence within the online community.

Social Media’s Impact on Customer Service Report

Prepared by Lisa M. Robinson & Mark Wilson

• Report: Social Media Impact Assignment – Wilson Robinson
• Visual Aid: Social Media’s Impact on Customer Service Prezi

Alongside classmate and fitness guru, Mark Wilson, an evaluation of the overall impact that social media has had on the customer service industry was developed. In doing so, Wilson and I were able to develop a set of social media guidelines which serve as a protocol for safe and successful integration of social media tools for customer service practices.

EDBL Marketing Plan Report

Prepared By Summit Marketing Team (Lisa M. Robinson, Mark Wilson, Aneel Mattu and Renit Bains)

• Report: EDBL_Marketing_Plan.Summit_Marketing
• Visual Aid: EDBL Marketing Plan Prezi

Summit Marketing Team created a marketing plan for local company Eat, Drink, Be Local. In doing, we were required to analyze the current operations of the company to determine the viability of the business in today’s economy. After confirming the concepts viability, Summit Marketing was able to develop a series of options in which EDBL could utilize to create monetary plan for its services.

MRKT 3311 Blogs

Prepared By Lisa M. Robinson

• MRKT 3311 Blog Posts

A series of online marketing related topics created from January 2012 to April 2012. Throughout my time in this course, I translated my newly acquired knowledge on a variety of marketing topics into relevant, and information blog posts.

Final Thoughts

This course has provided me with a better grasp on the importance that digital marketing has on the success of a company’s overall marketing efforts. In the future, I will utilize the knowledge I’ve gained when considering my own entrepreneurial ventures. My only suggestions for further improvement of this course would be for a greater emphasis to be put on the application of subjects, as a great portion of the workload was theoretical in nature.

Bibliography

Cain-Jackson, B. (2011). Social Media Image. Retrieved from Technorati: http://technorati.com/social-media/article/bin-laden-death-rules-social-media/

EDBL. (2012). Eat, Drink, Be Local Banner Image. Retrieved from www.eatdrinkbelocal.com

Kwantlen Polytechnic University. (2012). KPU Logo Image. Retrieved from www.kwantlen.com

Wikipedia. (2012). Dr Pepper Logo Image. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_Pepper

Wilson, M. J. (2012). Mark Wilson. Retrieved from http://www.markjameswilson.ca/

Managing the Communication Process: Course Overview

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s 3211 Marketing course, “Managing the Communication Process”, has been a great help in furthering my knowledge of the role that communication plays in process of marketing. An essential part of being a great marketer lies within ones understanding of the entire communicative process and the importance this has on properly conveying a message to a desired market.

Throughout this course, I engaged in the analysis of existing, as well as the development of new, marketing campaigns. In doing so, I gained experience in evaluating the content, layout, and overall communicative plan of various campaigns. In turn, I was able to speculate on what led to these various campaigns successes or failures, and what could have been done differently to further improve the result. It was an interesting and innovative course that aided in my discovery of what constitutes as successful paid, earned and owned media, and how these forms of media were utilized by companies.

Project Example

The following project was developed as part of a “News Watch” assignment, in which students were required to evaluate a current marketing campaign, highlighting the weak and strong points of the advertising efforts. As part of this assignment, I looked at the following subjects:

• Forms of Media (Paid, Earned, Owned)
• Colour Theory
• Composition, Layout & Design
• Consumer Behaviour

I chose to analyze was the “My After” campaign launched by “Got Chocolate Milk?”, in which I prepared my visual aid using Prezi. The actual report can be viewed here:

My After Campaign- News Watch Assignment

However, feel free to view my visual accompaniment as well, (click here to view).

I would encourage all marketers to familiarize themselves with the communicative process found throughout all marketing efforts, as it is a fundamental component in ensuring a message is properly relayed to the desired audience. Developing a well-rounded understanding of what constitutes as, and how to manage, the communication process could very well be the difference between a marketer’s success and failure in the marketing world.

In the future, I will definitely utilize the knowledge that I’ve gained during this course in both my professional and personal life. From an everyday perspective, I will be able to better recognize the tactics and marketing themes used in everyday advertisements. In doing so, I can evaluate my own reaction to the campaigns to evaluate its influence on my behaviour. Professionally, as a marketer, I can utilize what I’ve learned to encourage the desired behaviour of others, creating greater leverage for my resources.

The Titanic: Bad Marketing at its Best.

I thought it would be appropriate to create a marketing post that related to the wonderful Titanic, as it is the 100^th anniversary of its demise this month.  I should add that I am a truly avid Titanic fan (not just of the movie, but of the ship itself).

Old Fashion Marketing

Marketing tactics in the beginning of the 20^th century were very basic and traditional. In fact, Titanic advertisements were limited to print media, such as brochures, flyers, newspaper articles and posters. However, word of mouth advertising also plays a great role in the effective promotional strategy of the ship.

So what was the Titanic marketing team’s main strategy?  I would have to say the infamous slogan of the titanic, which was that the ship was “unsinkable”.

Unsinkable Claims Cause Sinking?

In fact, it was noted in an article by Printwand, that the “unsinkable” claim may actually be considered a factor in the disastrous result of the ship. This campaign’s purpose was to promote the ships overall quality and prestige as a means for targeting first class passengers. However, the claim spread like wildfire and could be seen as creating a false sense of assurance to the crew and captain. As a result, fewer precautions were taken. After all, at the time that the ship hit the iceberg, it was travelling at a speed of 22.5 knots, with 23 knots being the maximum speed possible. Not to mention, it was travelling at this speed in an area known for being populated by icebergs, with 7 iceberg warnings received on April 14th (the day it hit) from various ships in the area.

However, it’s debatable that if the Titanic did not use such a self-assured slogan, would this disaster be held in such high regard? After all, there have been numerous disasters at seas, ones with greater tragedies, which never received as much exposure as the Titanic. In my opinion, the mere irony of advertising the ship as unsinkable and having it sink on its maiden voyage is one reason that  holds great weight for why the ship is still talked of today.

Lest We Forget

Let us all take the time this upcoming April 15^th 2012 to remember the 1517 lives that perished  from the Titanic’s disastrous fate 100 years ago.

Bibliography

Clarkson, A. (n.d.). The Ice Warnings Recieved by the Titanic. Retrieved April 1, 2012, from Titanic-Titanic: http://www.titanic-titanic.com/warnings.shtml

Eszlinger. (n.d.). The Titanic Page: A Site to Remember. Retrieved April 1, 2012, from Eszlinger: http://www.eszlinger.com/titanic/titanfacts.html

Mouronval, A. (2005, November 14). Titanic Image. Retrieved April 1, 2012, from Starway: http://www.starway.org/Titanic/

Printwand. (n.d.). How an ‘Unsinkable’ Marketing Campaign Led the Titanic to Disaster. Retrieved April 1, 2012, from Printwand: http://www.printwand.com/blog/how-unsinkable-marketing-campaign-led-titanic-disaster

The Edwardians Blog. (2011, November 23). Newspaper Image: Titanic Sinks Headlines. Retrieved April 1, 2012, from The Edwardians Blog: http://theedwardians.blogspot.ca/2011/11/titanic-sinks-headlines.html

Titanic Universe. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2012, from Titanic Universe: http://www.titanicuniverse.com/